P-Vock's Music Box: Have An Ice Day
Hello and welcome back to P-Vock's Music Box. It is friggin frigid out there! You know it's cold when even I'm admitting it. The temperature has dropped, and my spirits have risen.
I love this time of year and I love this weather. While others bundle up and become miserable, I get uncharacteristically jovial and upbeat.
Let's celebrate my jovial nature by having a listen to some of the most upbeat chilly tunes ever composed.
When it doesn't incredibly dark lore about CEOs trying to destroy the universe because their daughter died or a disheveled warrior whose blade thirsts for combat and conquest, the Kirby series remains a series that puts all who experience it in a positive mood. No matter where he goes, Kirby remains a contagious force of positivity and cheer. Of course, that quality is also reflected in the music. Let's have a listen.
Most video game music composed for winter theming just goes the obvious route of bells that create a general Christmas motif, even when the situation it accompanies may not necessarily be themed as such. Kirby 64's Shiver Star avoids this while maintaining the funky beats and chunky bass often associated with its score overall. While it has some Christmas instrumentation, it certainly doesn't feel like a Christmas piece, and I honestly find it refreshing. That's probably why I still come back to this music every winter.
It sure would suck if the series ever lost that feeling.
They nailed it twenty years ago and they nailed it in 2022. Not only was Kirby and the Forgotten Land an absolute gem of a game that I truly adored, but it also gave us some bangers in the music department. The most beloved and fondly remembered track is probably Northeast Frost Street and like, of course it is. When the snow falls and everyone gets mad at me because I'm smiling away, this is the kind of music that's playing through my mind. It remains atmospheric and blissful while keeping that sense of adventure and discovery that perfectly reflects how Forgotten Land takes this iconic series in a bold new direction and absolutely crushes it. All while never falling back to a generic Christmas theme.
I should clarify, that's not to say that I simply hate Christmas-themed areas...
If you're going to make it festive, make it so damn festive that I feel the need to shove a Christmas tree up some Grinch's ass! Kirby's Epic Yarn is, contrary to what the name may make one think, a very cozy and relaxing adventure until you hit the winter world and it lights up like a damn tree (it actually happens as the tree lights up in-game in one of the most holly and jolly displays ever created). This piece nails the vibes way more effectively than any of those stupid Hallmark movies about a businessperson going home and learning the true meaning of the holidays.
Even if you truly hate the snow and the cold, I hope these jams were able to give you a sense of warmth and maybe make you crack a smile or bob your head a bit. The Kirby series never fails to provide me with unending joy, and I hope these beats were able to convey why I love both the series from which they hail as well as this time of year that makes me feel simply sublime.
Thank you so much for checking out my nonsense and I hope to catch you back here next time with another suggestion from my Music Box.
Stay Brutal!